First half strike seals historic opening World Club Cup win for Masandawana

The Citizen

19-06-2025

Mamelodi Sundowns defeated South Korea's Ulsan HD, securing a 1–0 victory in their opening FIFA Club World Cup match on June 18 at the Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, in the United States.
The match was delayed by an hour due to unfavourable weather conditions, but despite the wait, Bafana Ba Style's hopes of winning their first match of the tournament became a reality.
Masandawana got off to a great start, nearly opening the scoring through Arthur Sales, who struck a shot from a tight angle on the left flank, but the goalkeeper denied them an early opener.
The opposition were quick to retaliate, but the shot taken right in front of the goal sailed over the bar.
During the first half, the game was evenly balanced, with both teams trading chances without scoring.
Iqraam Rayners squeezed himself into the box, but his shot rolled over a few inches wide. Two minutes later, he found the back of the net from a free-kick, only for the goal to be ruled out.
No hat-trick, but Rayners still gets the job done for Mamelodi Sundowns 🫡 pic.twitter.com/o3lYP7HCXH
— 433 (@433) June 18, 2025
In the 36th minute, through a defence-splitting pass orchestrated by Lucas Ribeiro, Rayners found the ball and slotted it in, breaking the deadlock for his side.
Sundowns were awarded a free-kick outside the area, following a foul by the visitors. Known for his deadly set-pieces, Tebogo Mokoena nearly doubled the lead before half-time, firing a strong shot, but the Ulsan goalkeeper dived in the right direction to keep his team in the match.
In a tense moment before the break, Ronwen Williams came out to defend a ball that eventually went past him, but luckily, Divine Lunga was steadfast on the net to clear the danger away. The Brazilians went to the interval leading by a goal.
The second half saw Ulsan dominating the ball and taking plenty of chances to find a goal that would level matters, but the Downs backline remained steadfast and denied them a goal.
In the final 10 minutes, the match grew increasingly tense. Masandawana came close to scoring a second goal, but a lack of balance in front of the goal allowed Ulsan to clear.
Ahead of the match, coach Miguel Cardoso highlighted the importance of performing against a range of strong international teams.
'I'm looking forward to seeing how we perform against an Asian team, as well as Dortmund and Fluminense. These are three different tests, and we have to make the most of them all,' Cardoso said.
He emphasised the importance of self-belief and taking each game as it comes.
'Obviously, for us, it would be an incredible achievement to go through the group stage, but before we achieve that, we need to get points. So, we need to play a very complete match tomorrow.'
Mamelodi Sundowns supporter Godwin Nyathi was full of praise for the team's commitment.
'Personally, what stood out for me is how the team conducted themselves. They showed passion and hunger. They were very determined from the first minute until the last minute of the game, and that is what we always want to see as the fans of Mamelodi Sundowns,' he said.
Well done to our brothers!! 👏🎉
Let's keep making the Nation proud 🇿🇦👆#SundownsLadies #AfricaToTheWorld https://t.co/QvwPeanzsO
— Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies Team (@SundownsLadies) June 18, 2025
Nyathi said he believes Sundowns have what it takes to go further in the World Cup as they started off to a great start, and people should expect a couple of surprises.
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